Culvert and method of protecting the same



Aug. 21, 1934. R, R NlXON 1,970,670

CULVERT AND METHOD OF PROTECTING THE SAME Filed July 28, 1952 IIIIII R.R.Ni%on Patented Aug. 2l,

PATENT CFI-ICEA cULvEu'r AND rmcmson or Psorncrmc.

THE

Robert B. Nixon, Chattanooga, Tenn. Application July 28, 1932, Serial No. 625.457 8 Claims. (Cl. 137-75) This invention relates to culverts and more particularly to those made of corrugated metall which usually aredamaged in time by the sand and other sediment coursing therethrough with the drainage water, the invention having for its object to provide means for, as well as a method of, protecting saidl culvert from such damage in a manner more efficient than is possible with the constructions heretofore proposed.

With these and other objects in View the invention resides in the novel details of construction and combinations of parts constituting the apparatus, as well as in the steps and combinations of steps constituting the method, all as will be disclosedmore fully hereinafter and particularly pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawing forming a part of thisv specification in which like numerals designate like parts in all the views,-

Fig. lis a vertical longitudinal sectional view of a portion of a culvert treated according to this invention;

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of a section of a plain-'culvert showing a battle such as can be seen from the line 2 2 of Fig. 1 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 3 is a detail view illustrating the method of forming one end of a metallic sheet preparatory to rolling the sheet to form the cylindrical culvert section; and

Figs. 4 and 5 are sectional details illustrating modifications o f baille construction associated with the culvert sections.

According `to heretofore known methods of protecting the interior lower surfaces of .culvert sections from abrasive wear and damage caused by sediment coursing through ,the culvert, there have been provided coatings of cement, asphalt, or other ingredients, articial oorings composed chiey of sections of wood block, and auxiliary plates disposed within the culvert sections, but a serious disadvantage of such construction lies in the fact that these'artificial coatings and ioorings have not closely contacted the inner surface of the culvert, wherefore the ne particles of sand and other sediment carried by the drainage water have entered the space between the culvert surface and such flooring etc. and caused the latter to become separated from the culvert surface as a result of which the space therebetween has been increased so as to permit more sediment to enter the space in the course of time with attendant abrasive action. In the case of coatings, a more or less elaborate plant is necessary for the dipping, painting or spraying, and the coating is not positive in complete coverage. Further, considerable diilicultyis experienced in getting a proper consistency of asphalt which would neither crack nor ow under seasonal temperature changes, or differences in the temperatures between the sun-exposed ends and the cool central and covered portions of a culvert. In oil producing regions asphalt protected culverts would be of no use, since kerosene will dissolve substantially all grades of asphalt. 05

In the case of articial oorings much additional weight is added to the culvert thereby increasing tremendously the cost of shipping, and making handling very burdensome. Also, because of the extra weight, the floored culverts as well as the heavily coated ones are more liable to damage in shipping or handling. Where unprotected culvert is already installed it would be very laborious to coat or floor the same.

The present invention, on the other hand, overcomes all of these difficulties by causing the sediment itself to form the protective coating on the inner surface of the culvert sections, said sediment being retained b y virtue of relatively closely spaced bailles extending upwardly from the culvert surface and spaced at close intervals. These baffles are light in weight, may be formed on the culvert sections at the factory or may be made separately, and attached subsequently either before, during, or after the culvert is installed. The separable baille element is valuable because not all culvert piping is subjected to abrasive wear, or the culvert may be installed in extremely hard soil or rock locations where substantially no abrasive action would occur, and therefore the bailes could be secured to the culvert sections as and when found necessary, thereby eliminating -investment in two kinds of culvert piping. Lastly, in present installations where abrasion has just started, these baiiies may be secured in place by welding or other process and prolong the usefull life of the culvert. x

With reference to the drawing, 1, 2 and 3 indicate sections of a circular or rolled culvert in their joined relation, and 4 indicates generally 100 the transversely disposed baiiles in the bottom portions of said sections whichserve as dams for collecting the sediment 5. While the baiiles 4 in Fig. 1 have been illustrated as formed only at the ends of the culvert sections, it is to be understood that besides the particular baille shown, there may be provided additional and otherwise formed bailies at appropriate spacings from the ends of the culvert sectionsand which may be secured to said sections in any suitable manner.

.Referring to Figs. 2 and 3 it will be seen that the baille 4 comprises a portion oi the metallic plate or sheet from which the culvert section is made, 6 representing the main body portion of the sheet, one end of which is cut by stamping or other` suitable operation to provide the circular segmental portion which ultimately becomes the baille. This portion has a straight edge 7 which, in the completed culvert, will lie in a "horizontal plane, and the circular edge portion 8 which is joined to the main body portion by the hinge section 9. Extending inwardly of the segmental portion from the circukar edge 8 are parallel cuts 10 to provide a leg portion 11, there being two such leg portions disposed symmetrically on opposite sides oi the hinged section 9, andl the., extreme tree edge 12 oi each leg portion is cut at an angle to t the curvature of the ultimately circularly Iormed culvert section. Obviously, however, the segmental portion with its legs could be stamped from sheet metal independently of the culvert section in which case a centrally disposed extension could be formed on the circular edge 8 to take the place of the hinge section 9 and serve to secure, as by riveting, the baille to theculvert section. Alternately, this extension could be eliminated entirely and the baille edge 8 tted in and welded to the inner surface of the culvert section.

After the metallic sheet has been cut as just above described, the; main bodv portion 6 is rolled and corrugated .as usual, and secured to form the circular culvert section,'and then the segmental portion is bent about the hinged sec-'- tion 9 to cause said segmental portion to assume a'position in a vertical transverse section of the culvert. The leg portions 11 are then bent from the plane of the baille at approximately 45 to .extend in a direction away from or out of the culvert section. When two or more culvert sections provided with these baiiies e fitted together end to end, the legportions/ 1 will coact with the corrugation such as 13 (see Fig. 1) so as to brace the baille 4 against being turned downwardly by the rush of water and sediment passing' through the culvert in the direction indicated by the arrow. Each baille 4 so formed need only be of a dimension to extend vertically a distance suiiicient to stop and collect enough sediment to form a coating on the inner culvert surface between the baiiles and therefore with a closer spacing of the baiiles the vertical extent of each baille may be reduced. I

Whereas Figs. 1 and 3 indicate constructions involving corrugated culvert sections, this invention is equally applicable to sections which are not corrugated and therefore Fig. 2 was purposely drawn devoid of corrugations. In this respect the hinge section 9 of Fig. 3 would be formed of suflicient dimension to permit the legs 11 to have a length to serve the purpose for which they are intended.

In Figs. 4 and 5 are shown modiilcations of baille construction and application. vIn Fig. 4 the baille 15 is of the same general shape as the baille 4 but it is not integrally formed with the culvert section. On the other hand, it is a separate piece of metal whose lo'wermost and central portion has an extension which is laterally bent and curved to t the corrugation of the culvert, the baille being secured to the culvert as by rivets 16. In Fig. 5 the baille is shown at 17 and comprises a planar piece of metal of circular vment on said bottom wall.

segmental shape secured within a corrugation of the culvert by welding as indicated at 18.

In operation the culvert A provided with the transverselyl extending bailles is laid in place so that the bailies occupy the lowermost portions of the culvert sections, the upper straight edge of each baille lying substantially in a horizontal plane. In the case 'of the baiiies 4 having the legs 11, the culvert sections are laid on the drainage gradient so that the legs extend in the direction of travel of the sediment through the culvert. As the sand or other sediment is carried into the culvert, each baille will serve as a dam or wier collecting the sediment and causy ing it to back up until ultimately the culvert surface between the bailies is covered by the sediment. With the construction shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 the apertures, created by displacement of the leg portions from the plane of the baffle, will permit some sediment to pass therethrough, but this quantity is very small and advantageously results in a positive collection and deposition of the sediment on the culvert surface on both sides of each baille.

It is obvious that those skilled in the art may vary the details of construction and arrangements of parts without departing from the spirit of the invention, and therefore it is not desired to be limited to the foregoing exceptas may be required by the claims.

What is claimed is:-

1. A culvert comprising joined sections having an imperforate bottom wall; and a baule disposed at the end of a section and comprising a portion oi said section bent upwardly at substantial right 110 angles to the centerline of the culvert, said bale of a height sumcient to intercept'and hold a porktionof the sediment passing through said culvert for establishing a protective coating of sedi- 2. A culvert; means therein to intercept and hold a portion of the sediment passing therethrough, said means comprising a portion of the culvert casing bent upwardly to constitute a baille; and a leg to braceY said baiiie against they force of the sediment passing through said culvert.

l 3. A culvert; means therein to intercept and hold a portion of the sediment passing therethrough, said means comprising a portion of the culvert casing bent upwardly to constitute a baule; and means to brace said baille against the force of the sediment passing through said culvert, said means 'comprising legs integrallyformed with said baille.

4. A culvert; a baille therein to interceptand hold a portion of the sediment passing therethrough to create a protective coating on the lowermost inner surface of said culvert; and legs secured to said baille to brace the same against 135 the force of the passing sediment. l

5. A culvert section the same comprising a main body portion of sheet metal whose opposite side edges are secured to form a circular conduit; and an extending end portion of segmental shape whose circular edge is joined to said main body portion to create a hinge, whereby the segmental portion may be bent along said hinge inwardly of the culvert section to constitute a baiile for intercepting and holding a portion of the 145 sediment passing through said section when in use.

6. A culvert section the same comprising a main body portion of sheet metal whose opposite side edges are secured to form a circular 150 conduit; an extending end portion of segmental shape whose circular edge is joined to said main body portion to create a, hinge, whereby the segmental portion may be bent along said hinge inwardly of the culvert section to constitute a baille for intercepting and holding a portion of the sediment passing through said section when in use; and legs formed in the circular edge portion of the bathe, said legs bendable to bracingly coact with the inner surface of an adjoining culvert section to hold said baiiie vertical when acted upon by the force of said passing sediment.

'L In a culvert having an imperforate bottom wall, haiile means to' intercept and hold a portion of the sediment passing therethrough, said means secured to and shaped to t a substantial portion of the wall and disposed at substantially right angles thereto, said means being of a height and so disposed as to hold a layer of sediment to serve portion of the wall of one of the corrugations of.

the culvert and disposed at substantial right an.- gles thereto, said means being of a height and so disposed as to hold a layer of sediment to serve as a protective coating on the corrugated inner wall surface of the lowermost portion of the culvert.

ROBERT R. NIXQN, 

